Chadian 100 franc coin
Chad |use= }} |value= 100.00 CFA francs |years= 1970–1991 |mass= *5 g (1970) *7 g (1971-1991) |diameter= 25.5 mm (1971-1991) |thickness= 1.7 mm (1971-1991) |composition= *silver (1970) *nickel (1971-1991) *gold (1971 essai) |shape= round |alignment= coin (1971-1991) |edge= reeded |obverse= * , , state title, value, year (1970) *Three , state title (1971-1991) |reverse= *Map of Africa, state title, year (1970) *Bank title, value, year (1971-1991) }} The 100 franc coin is a former commemorative and circulation piece of the Republic of Chad that was produced from 1970 to 1991. The first coin of the denomination was a non-circulating legal tender piece of 1970 celebrating the 10th anniversary of Chad's independence from France. A year later, in 1971, a circulation 100 franc piece, along with unissued essais, was introduced and produced until 1972. A similar piece was then issued from 1975 to 1991, along with an essai dated from the first year of production. All three pieces carry legal tender face values equivalent to 100.00 Central African CFA francs. The commemorative, however, has been demonetized, and was never intended for general circulation, although it was valid legal tender in Chad. The circulation pieces are currently used in the member states of the Economic and Monetary Union of Central Africa, including Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. Coins Decennial of independence commemorative coin (1970) France acquired the territory of Chad in 1900 as a result of a series of campaigns into Africa. However, by 1960 France granted independence to its territories in Central Africa, including Chad, which became a . In 1970, in celebration of the 10th anniversary of independence, the Chadian government authorized the issuance of a series of commemorative coins consisting of 100; 200; 300; 1,000; 3,000; 5,000; 10,000; and 20,000 francs. The Royal Belgian Mint in , Belgium, was commissioned to strike all of them. The 100 franc piece of the series is composed of .925 fine silver and weighs approximately 5 grams and measures around 19.7 millimeters in diameter. It has a reeded edge and is round in shape. Displayed in the middle of the coin's obverse, in front of a and some long , is a ¾ right-facing bust of (1925–1968), an American politician and a younger brother of (1917–1963). The caption "R.KENNEDY" is present to the upper right, slanted downward toward the right side of the obverse. Below it, also slanted, are the dates "1925.1968", which represent the politician's lifespan. Written horizontally near the bottom of the illustration, superimposing portions of Kennedy's bust truncation, is the face value "100 fr", followed below in small print by the date "1970". The motto "LIBERTÉ PROGRÈS SOLIDARITÉ", which translates to as "Liberty, progress, solidarity", is inscribed in a clockwise direction along the upper rim of the piece, extending from the left to right sides of the obverse. Printed counterclockwise along the coin's bottom periphery is the name of the Republic of Chad in French, which reads "REPUBLIQUE DU TCHAD". The date "1960", which represents the year Chad gained its independence, appears between the two texts at the left side of the obverse, while the then current year "1970" is shown between the texts at the right side, both written in a counterclockwise direction. An image of the African continent and portions of the of Asia with the outline of Chad carved out is displayed in the middle of the reverse. Arched along the rim above in a counterclockwise direction is the state title "REPUBLIQUE DU TCHAD", and engraved horizontally in small print below South Africa in the map is the year "1970". The rims of both the obverse and reverse are raised. A mintage of approximately 975 Chadian 100 franc pieces was produced, all with a proof finish. Circulation coins (1971–1991) In 1971 all of the member states of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa introduced their first 100 franc coins for circulation, except for Cameroon, which initially issued a piece of the denomination in 1966. All of the coins, virtually uniform in appearance, were struck at the Monnaie de Paris facility in , France. The Chadian example was produced until 1972, and then minted with slight modifications from 1975 to 1991. The circulation piece, along with some 1971 and 1975 essais, is composed of nickel, and a handful of essais in gold are known from 1971. Examples made of nickel weigh 7 grams, and all specimens measure 25.5 millimeters in diameter and 1.7 millimeters in thickness. The Chadian 100 franc piece has coin alignment and a reeded edge, and is round in shape. Displayed at the bottom center of the obverse, designed by French artists Lucien Georges Bazor (1889–1974) and Robert Cochet (1903–1988), are three left-facing eastern ( gigas), savanna native to parts of Central Africa, including a small southern portion of Chad. On the coin these animals are depicted standing in a field of long grass. Printed to the right of the illustration in an upward direction is the "G.B.L.BAZOR" signature of Bazor, and inscribed in the grass is the "CR" of Robert Cochet. The French state title of the Republic of Chad, "REPUBLIQUE DU TCHAD", appears clockwise along the rim of the piece, commencing at the left side of the obverse and concluding at the right. The reverses of the coins produced from 1971 to 1972 and those from 1975 to 1991 slightly differ. Both feature the value "100 FRANCS" in the center, with the numeral, decorated, printed significantly larger than the following word. To the left the privy mark of the Monnaie de Paris appears, slanted downward on pieces from 1971 and 1972 and upward on later examples. To the right is the privy mark of the Graveur général des monnaies at the time of minting: examples of 1971 and 1972 bear the owl mark of Raymond Joly (1911–2006), while those of later dates feature the dolphin mark of Émile Rousseau (1927–2010). On both reverses, the value and marks are surrounded by a circular border decorated similar to a , and beyond that is an ornamental border consisting of geometric patterns, enclosed within another rope-like boundary engraved along the rim of the piece. This outermost border appears closer to the rim on the later reverse variety. On examples from 1971 and 1972, the words "BANQUE CENTRALE" ("Central Bank"), referring to the Bank of Equatorial African States and Cameroon (French: Banque Centrale des Etats de l'Afrique Equatoriale et du Cameroun), appears in large print between the rope borders at the top of the piece, written clockwise on one line, while the date of minting appears counterclockwise at the bottom of the piece, also between the borders. However, because of the establishment of the Bank of Central African States in 1972, the text at the top was replaced for the later pieces by the title "BANQUE DE L'ETATS DE L'AFRIQUE CENTRALE", which is curved on two lines between the rope boundaries at the top. The date of minting on the later dated 100 franc coins appears below the word "FRANCS" in the value in small font. On the 1971 essais, the word "ESSAI" appears below the value on the reverse, whereas on 1975 essais it appears above it. All Chadian 100 franc coins made from 1971 to 1991 have raised rims. The total mintage of the circulation Chadian 100 franc coin is currently unknown. Approximately 10,000,000 examples were struck from 1971 to 1972, with 5,000,000 business strikes produced in each year. Additionally, 1,400 nickel and 4 gold essais were made in 1971, and 1,700 nickel essais were produced in 1975. References *Numismatic Guaranty Corporation website *Numista *Chaponnière & Firmenich SA listing – 3 Chadian essai coins Category:20th century coins Category:Central African 100 franc coin Category:Central African CFA franc Category:Coins of Chad Category:Coins with coin alignment Category:Coins with French inscriptions Category:Coins with Gregorian dates Category:Dated coins Category:Gold Category:Nickel Category:Round coins Category:Silver